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Buddhism outlines three mental poisons: moha (delusion, confusion, ignorance), raga (as desire, lust, greed), and dvesa (as aversion, anger, hostility). I feel like there are three fundamental concepts underpinning these poisons, but that their expression in Buddhism were constrained by the fact that society was heavily community focused and social. They're less so thought poison that clouds the mind of the individual, but more so, that clouds the minds of a society.
In this new, interconnected, yet dissociated reality, I feel that the underlying sins of moha, raga, and dvesa could be more accurately defined for an individual, than was previously possible. I would also connect them to the concept of time.
- A sin of the past (delusion), in which one builds mental narratives instead of intuition. This leads to rumination, dissociation, and detracts from living ones life competently, when one is tangled in delusion.
- A sin of the future (desire), constantly chasing after an end objective, such as money or sex, or constantly waiting on some future precondition to first be fulfilled. Again, leading to incompetence, in ability, to achieve desires.
- A sin of the present (hatred), if one is obsessed with what is wrong or one detests, one ends up with no time to devote to pursuing and nurturing what brings love and enjoyment. Or if they allow the hatred of others to alter their decisions, again, this again compromises self-actualization.
